FSCast Episode 79, June 2013

FSCast is Freedom Scientific’s podcast. Hosted by Jonathan Mosen, FSCast features news, interviews, and product demonstrations relating to Freedom Scientific products. FSCast is a great way to make the most of the products you have as well as learning about what’s new and what’s around the corner.

Choosing the links for the FSCast episodes below will automatically launch the MP3 in your default media player.

To download an episode, right-click on the link, and select Save Target As. Save to the location of your choice.

In the first of two breaking news stories in FSCast from the CSUN technology conference, Eric Damery announces a collaboration between Freedom Scientific and the American Printing House for the Blind to create student editions of our JAWS® screen reading software, and our MAGic® screen magnification software. Learn how easy it will be for every K through 12 student to obtain their copy.

Feeling lonely and want to make new friends? Come join the MDM Club for free. Our Club members include people with autism, depression, anxiety, mental illness, blindness, deafness and many other disabilities.

In English-speaking countries, the latest update to JAWS® 17 now alerts you by default when a new episode of FSCast is released. If you’ve not heard FSCast before, Glen Gordon talks to our regular host, Jonathan Mosen, who introduces himself and tells you what you can expect to hear on FSCast.

We preview all the Freedom Scientific activities at the forthcoming CSUN conference in San Diego.

And Dusty Voorhees tells us about an exciting update to our OpenBook® scanning and recognition software.

Eric Damery joins Jonathan Mosen to preview a forthcoming feature in our JAWS® 17 screen reading software that will make it easier to keep up-to-date with FSCast. We also look ahead to the CSUN Conference in March.

Bill Kilroy is Freedom Scientific’s Director of Eastern Regional Sales. He joins Jonathan to talk about his long history with Freedom Scientific, and his visit to St Petersburg Florida to learn about Optelec products.

Jonathan Mosen speaks with Ryan Jones. When he’s not working with Freedom Scientific’s Training Department, Ryan has a fascinating hobby. Last year, he put together a synchronised Christmas light show, thanks to hardware and software he operated with the help of JAWS®. Ryan tells us all about it.

FSCast Episode 116 – George Calvert who recently became blind, our Travel Log section takes you to Seattle and Finland, JAWS Byte demonstrating how to set up voice profiles

Jonathan Mosen speaks with George Calvert, a user of our JAWS® screen reading software who became blind just over three years ago. An experienced professional Working in the field of information technology, he has relearned how to use a computer without sight. His free eBook, “Getting Back to Work with JAWS”, is designed to help people who need to learn familiar computer skills in a new way.

Our Travel Log section takes you to Seattle, and to Finland.

And Travis Peterson brings us a JAWS Byte demonstrating how to set up voice profiles, and explaining why you’d want to.

FSCast Episode 115 – JAWS 17 Smart Navigation, Dr. Craig Moore talks to Jonathan Mosen about his work at NASA on the new space launch system rocket and Ashleigh Piccinino on changing the forms mode sound in JAWS

As the JAWS® public beta process concludes, we’ve introduced some enhancements to the Smart Navigation™ feature. Jonathan Mosen demonstrates them.

Dr. Craig Moore has worked for NASA since 1989, and currently works on the new space launch system rocket project. He talks with Jonathan about his work.

And Ashleigh Piccinino brings us a JAWS Byte on changing the forms mode sound in JAWS.

Jonathan recaps all the news from Freedom Scientific participation at the summer conventions held in Orlando and Dallas. News includes John Blake’s announcement regarding partnership between Wells Fargo and Freedom Scientific to deploy JAWS® in over 6000 retail locations nationwide later this Fall. Also, the overwhelming success and reception of Home Use Program for conferences attendees and an update on the Guinness World Record attempt on July 8th in Orlando.

As thousands of people head to Orlando and Dallas for the NFB and ACB national conventions, Eric Damery joins us to preview Freedom Scientific’s convention offerings. He unveils a substantial discount on hardware, available at both conventions.

If you’re attending the conventions of the National Federation of the Blind or American Council of the Blind, we summarise a series of great specials available in the exhibit halls.

Hartgen Consultancy will soon be launching global specials on their Leasey and JDictate products. We give you the details.

Jonathan Mosen speaks with Glen Gordon, Freedom Scientific’s Chief Technology Officer, about Microsoft’s Windows 10, which is to be released on July 29. He’ll tell you what to expect if you’re a user of our JAWS® screen reading software or our MAGIC® screen magnification software.

We’re then joined by Dr. Denise Robinson with a segment that’s a must listen for all students, job seekers and technology purchasers. She argues that when it comes to creating content and being job ready, it’s vital to be JAWS ready.

FSCast Episode 108 – Special pricing at NFB convention, Jonathan Mosen speaks with Mark Riccobono, President of NFB and Robin Drodge, a Canadian JAWS user who put Freedom Scientific on his family holiday plans.

As we prepare for the blindness convention season in the US, we unveil some very special pricing we’ll be offering at the NFB Convention to celebrate its 75th birthday.

Jonathan Mosen speaks with Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind, about his recent visit to Freedom Scientific’s headquarters and a range of other topics.

And we hear from Robin Drodge, a Canadian JAWS® user who is such a fan of Freedom Scientific products, he scheduled a visit to our headquarters as part of his family holiday.

FSCast Episode 107 – Listener Comments, Keyboard Support for Facebook with version 16 of JAWS, Brian Hartgen demonstrates J-Dictate and introduces the latest version of Leasey software

After listener comments, Jonathan Mosen demonstrates the new keyboard support available for Facebook with version 16 of our JAWS® screen reading software.

Brian Hartgen of Hartgen Consultancy discusses and demonstrates their new product, J-Dictate, a cost-effective way to dictate to your computer. We then learn what’s new in the latest version of their Leasey software, including an accessible interface to Spotify and iTunes.

FSCast Episode 105 – Jonathan Mosen speaks with Ted Henter, who founded Henter-Joyce and created JAWS: Part 2

We bring you part two of Jonathan Mosen’s interview with Ted Henter, who founded Henter-Joyce and created the JAWS® screen reading software. Ted talks about the challenges of developing a screen reader for Windows, the phenomenal success of JAWS for Windows and many of the people who made that success possible.

FSCast Episode 104 – Jonathan Mosen speaks with Ted Henter, who founded Henter-Joyce and created JAWS: Part 1

Jonathan Mosen speaks with Ted Henter, who founded Henter-Joyce and created the JAWS® screen reading software. In part one of this two-part interview, Ted talks about his early life, the accident that left him blind, his interest in computing, founding Henter-Joyce and the early days of JAWS for DOS

If you’re coming to CSUN, don’t miss the summary of all our sessions, exhibits, giveaways and the celebration of JAWS® for Windows 20th anniversary.

After some comments from our listener line, Jonathan Mosen speaks with Nas Campanella. Nas reads news on the nationwide radio network, Triple J, in Australia. She’s a user of our JAWS screen reading software, and has perfected a fascinating technique for doing her job.

Larry and John Gassman then join us to share the difference JAWS has made in their working lives, and what they’ve learned from being long-time beta testers of JAWS.

FSCast Episode 102 – JAWS for Windows 20th anniversary video, Freedom Scientific at the ATIA and CSUN conferences, make the most of Freedom Scientific Technical Support and Kelly Ford tells us about the Microsoft Accessibility Answer Desk

With submissions due by the end of this month, we remind you about how to participate in our JAWS® for Windows 20th anniversary video. We look ahead to Freedom Scientific-related events at the ATIA and CSUN conferences.

Bryan Carver talks to us about how to make the most of Freedom Scientific Technical Support, answering a range of frequently asked questions.

And Kelly Ford tells us about the Microsoft Accessibility Answer Desk, available toll free in a growing number of countries.

In this our 100th episode, host Jonathan Mosen offers a few reflections on FSCast over the years.

After some listener comments, Brian Hartgen joins us to talk about Leasey, a new product based predominantly on the JAWS scripting language offering many convenient features for both novice and expert users.

We begin a series of podcasts introducing our JAWS® 16 screen reading software. Today we talk about the beta process, and announce the new JAWS editions – JAWS Home User Edition, and JAWS Professional.

In celebration of Freedom Scientific’s arrival on social media, Jonathan Mosen speaks with Christopher Toth of Accessible Apps. Chris is a talented young blind developer who has written a number of applications that work well with our JAWS® screen reading software, including Chicken Nugget, a means of using Twitter without visiting the website.

We feature another JAWS Bytes segment this month, demonstrating how easy it is to set up an accessible checkbook register with JAWS and Microsoft Excel®.

The CSUN conference is fast approaching. Learn about exhibits, giveaways and educational seminars from Freedom Scientific.

In a world first, the Colombian Government is collaborating with Freedom Scientific and our Colombian distributor, VER, to make our JAWS® screen reading software and MAGic® screen magnification software available to anyone who needs it, and in every public location it may be useful. Valentina Wieser joins us from Colombia to tell us all about it.

Over a decade ago, a little girl named Rachel Flowers wowed CSUN with her musical ability. A JAWS user, Rachel is still making music. She joins us to share her story, and to treat us with one of her compositions.

In the first of a new series called JAWS Bytes, Jonathan Mosen looks at the additional power JAWS brings to working with the Windows clipboard.

It’s a new year, and a chance to form good new habits. Why not take time out to become more familiar with Freedom Scientific technologies with the help of all the training material we produce? Dan Clark from our Training Department talks with Jonathan Mosen about making the most of the DAISY books and webinars available.

We then speak with Bob Sweetman of Sweetman Systems, who tells us about a handy one-page reference he’s produced to help with commonly-performed JAWS tasks and commands.

Jonathan Mosen speaks with John Blake, who became Freedom Scientific’s President and CEO in June. John talks about his background, outlines what interested him in the Freedom Scientific role, and offers some candid thoughts on the future of the company.

Jonathan Mosen speaks with Jim Bond, an Australian with Dyslexia who left school at 14, but has graduated in his 50’s with a degree in Political Science. Hear his remarkable story, and how his life was changed by Freedom Scientific’s WYNN™ literacy software.

Apple has just released iTunes® 11, a rewrite of their software used to purchase, play, and organize digital media, as well as for managing Apple mobile devices. This is part one of an updated two-part series on using iTunes 11 with version 14 of our JAWS® screen reading software.

Jonathan Mosen speaks with Dr. Amy Bower, a physical oceanographer at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. She talks about her fascinating field of study and how she is assisted by Freedom Scientific’s JAWS® screen reading software, and MAGic® screen magnification software.

Mary Beth Kullen from the Greater Detroit Agency for the Blind and Visually Impaired tells us about a summer camp supported by Freedom Scientific, which helped young people become more skilled with technology.

Jonathan Mosen speaks with Sue Martin. Blinded as the result of a suicide attempt, Sue put her life back together to become a successful professional. In an attempt to help others, she has begun writing about her experiences.

Eric Damery joins Jonathan Mosen to discuss our attendance at the annual conventions of the National Federation of the Blind and American Council of the Blind. We’ll also discuss the forthcoming release of our JAWS® 14 screen reading software, and Microsoft Windows® 8.

Dusty Voorhees then joins us to discuss version 12 of our MAGic® screen magnification software. Scheduled for release later this year, MAGic 12 represents a major breakthrough in screen magnification.

Earlene Hughes is an experienced Web site designer who is totally blind. She discusses techniques for developing a functional, visually attractive Web site with the assistance of our JAWS® screen reading software.

This month, we focus on Freedom Scientific in the community. Jonathan Mosen speaks with Jim Kutsch, President of The Seeing Eye, to learn about his career and the forthcoming online auction, to which Freedom Scientific has donated.

Then we hear from Mark Arnold from the American Blind Golf Association. He’ll tell us about the game itself, and the Association’s philanthropic work, which Freedom Scientific is proud to support.

Jonathan Mosen speaks with Bill McCann, President and founder of Dancing Dots. This company has changed the way blind people make music, with the assistance of a range of software tools and Freedom Scientific products.

This month, Jonathan Mosen speaks with John Martin. John became blind just three years ago, yet he has mastered the JAWS® scripting language to the extent that he has written powerful scripts for iTunes®, and Rhapsody®.

This month, Jonathan Mosen continues to demonstrate the PLEXTALK™ Pocket portable DAISY player, focusing exclusively on its powerful recording capabilities. Learn how to create your own DAISY content on the device, then modify and build a DAISY book using the PRS Pro software for Windows. This software is available with the PLEXTALK Pocket only when purchased from Freedom Scientific.

This month, Eric Damery tells us about the many features and enhancements contained in the Update 1 release of our JAWS 12® screen reading software. Eric also tells us about the JAWS Certification Program.

We then take you back to the CSUN 2011 conference, this time to hear from Glen Gordon, who demonstrates using JAWS 12 with Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2010.

This month, Jonathan Mosen speaks with Dusty Voorhees about Freedom Scientific’s SARA™CE, the new camera addition of our scanning and reading appliance.

Did you know Freedom Scientific’s products make a difference all around the world, in many languages? Dominic Burdick, our Director of Localization, introduces himself and talks about the process of localization.

In this month’s episode, Jonathan Mosen reviews the new features in PAC Mate 6.5, the software for our PAC Mate Omni™ Accessible Pocket PC. He’ll discuss a significant price reduction in the product, and summarise why PAC Mate leads the notetaker field.

If you have a device running Apple’s iOS4, such as the iPhone® or iPod Touch®, Freedom Scientific’s Focus 40 Blue™ is the perfect companion. Jonathan demonstrates pairing Focus 40 Blue with iPhone 4, then navigating and entering text from the Braille keyboard.

This month, Jonathan Mosen speaks with Dr Tim Cordes, one of only two qualified medical doctors in the United States who are blind. Tim tells us his story, and talks about what it has taken to overcome the scepticism of those who say a blind person can’t be a doctor. He also talks about the technology he uses to get the job done.

This month, FSCast begins with a summary of upcoming conventions where you can see Freedom Scientific products.

We discuss Freedom Scientific’s Vision Awareness Days. Learn how these events can introduce you to technology that can improve your quality of life.

If you’ve been looking for an accessible accounting package for your home or business, Accomplish CashManager may be worth a look. We learn about the software, and how this New Zealand-based company has gone the extra mile to make it accessible with JAWS® screen reading software.

On this month’s FSCast, Jonathan Mosen speaks with Dusty Voorhees about the upcoming release of OpenBook™ scanning and reading software 9.0. He’ll also discuss and demonstrate the revolutionary new PEARL™ portable reading solution.

Jonathan then discusses the importance of Braille displays, and how Focus 40 Blue™ can be used with a range of devices.

This month, Jonathan Mosen speaks with Karen Petrou, Chief Executive Officer of Federal Financial Analytics in Washington DC. We learn about her work, and the ways she uses Freedom Scientific technology to get the job done.

Jonathan then speaks with Vicky Cardona and Rusty Kelly of Freedom Scientific’s Test Department about their crucial role in the release of new hardware and software.

This month marks the beginning of FSCast’s fourth year, so who better to feature in this edition than the host of FSCast, Jonathan Mosen? Glen Gordon speaks with Jonathan about growing up in New Zealand and his career before coming to Freedom Scientific.

This month, we demonstrate some of the new Research It functionality introduced into the latest update of our JAWS® 11 screen reading software.

We then turn our attention to the 10th annual Braille Challenge, run by the Braille Institute of America, and which Freedom Scientific is proud to sponsor. We speak with Nancy Niebrugge, the Braille Institute’s Assistant Vice President of Programs and Services.

For a participant’s perspective on the Braille Challenge, we then hear from 10-year-old Cricket Bidleman, who has already won a PAC Mate™ accessible pocket PC from Freedom Scientific, thanks to her participation.

October marks the release of Freedom Scientific’s JAWS® 11 screen reading software and Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows® 7. JAWS 11 offers a number of feature enhancements to improve accessibility with this new operating system, and Microsoft itself has made many changes. To get a user perspective on JAWS 11 and Windows 7, we are joined by J. R. Westmoreland, an experienced technology user. We discuss what’s new in Windows 7 and when might be the right time to consider an upgrade.

This month, we continue to profile the new features in Freedom Scientific’s JAWS® 11 screen reading software. Eric Damery, Vice President of Software Product Management, updates us on the beta process as we move towards release.

Jonathan Mosen demonstrates some changes to Research It in JAWS 11 that have been implemented as a result of your feedback.

Glen Gordon, Freedom Scientific’s Chief Technology officer, discusses the secure and compatible braille display driver initiative introduced in JAWS 11 to improve the experience of braille display users with JAWS. He is followed by Dirk Kochanek of Papenmeier, a German manufacturer of braille displays, who discusses the signed driver initiative from the perspective of a braille display manufacturer.

We round off FSCast this month with a voice familiar to many. Jim Ellsworth from our technical support department discusses his background and his work, so you can learn more about the man behind the voice.

This month, Jonathan Mosen is joined by Eric Damery, our Vice President of Software Product Management, to unveil what’s new in our JAWS® 11 screen reading software. JAWS 11 will be in public beta starting the week of August 31.

This month, we invite you to visit Freedom Scientific at the conventions of the American Council of the Blind, the National Federation of the Blind, and Sight Village in the UK.

Jonathan Mosen then speaks with award winning science fiction author Robert J Sawyer. The first of his WWW Trilogy was released in April. Its main character is a JAWS® user who spends plenty of time on the Web. Rob talks about the trilogy, its characters, and some important philosophical questions raised in the books.

This month’s FSCast discusses the use of the social networking site Twitter in conjunction with JAWS® screen reading software and PAC Mate Omni™ accessible Pocket PC.

Jonathan Mosen speaks with Shannon Reece, Pratik Patel, and Mika Pyyhkala, who actively use Twitter with Freedom Scientific products. They discuss what Twitter is, how to sign up, and some third party applications and services they use to make the most of it.

Jonathan then speaks with Sean Randall, the author of Jawter, a set of JAWS scripts that give you access to Twitter from within any application while JAWS is running.

We’re then joined by Jamal Mazrui, author of McTwit. This is a powerful application written specifically for blind Twitter users, with functions accessible using a series of keyboard commands.

If you use Microsoft Outlook®, you can send and receive tweets, and run Twitter searches, right from within your inbox. The Chief Executive of TechHit, Alex Kovalchuk, tells us about TWInbox, formerly known as OutTwit.

While the main Twitter site works very well with JAWS, Accessible Twitter offers a number of enhancements that makes the Twitter experience easier. It’s creator, Dennis Lembree, tells us all about it.

During our discussions, we mention a number of other Twitter tools. Here are links to a few.

Twikini is a Windows Mobile Twitter client that’s easy to use, and works well with PAC Mate Omni.

Twittermail facilitates the sending of tweets via e-mail, as well as scheduling tweets to be sent in the future.

Twimailer provides detailed follow notifications, so you can see some recent tweets from people who are following you.

Tweetlater offers many powerful enhancements to Twitter, including automatic sending of welcome messages and e-mailing a digest of replies.

This month, Jonathan Mosen speaks with Dusty Vorhees about new features in Freedom Scientific’s MAGic® screen magnification software version 11. Find out about the many enhancements in the recently released MAGic update, and how you can apply to test the next release. Dusty also tells us about new features in our OpenBook™ scanning and reading software.

T&T Consultancy have released Say MAGic, a powerful interface between MAGic and Dragon Naturally speaking. Brian Hartgen tells us all about it.

Skype™ is a popular way to make high quality calls over the Internet. Version 4 of Skype was recently released, offering improved audio quality. It has a completely new user interface. Doug Lee has written popular scripts for Skype for use with Freedom Scientific’s JAWS® screen reading software. He joins us to talk about the pros and cons of upgrading to this new version of Skype.

This month’s FSCast begins with a summary of Freedom Scientific-related activities you can enjoy at the 24th Annual CSUN International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference.

We then speak with Tom Wlodkowski, Director of Accessibility at AOL™. Tom talks about his role at AOL and invites feedback from FSCast listeners regarding the accessibility of AOL software and services. Following the positive response from listeners to our January FSCast on accessible Web 2.0 applications with Aria and Freedom Scientific’s JAWS for Windows screen reading software, Tom describes the DHTML Style Guide. He shows how it helps to make Web 2.0 applications keyboard friendly, by demonstrating an accessible version of AOL Mail.

In this month’s FSCast, learn about new Freedom Scientific Training workshops to assist you in using JAWS® screen reading software, MAGic® screen magnification software, and other Freedom Scientific products and get information on new interactive Webinars for online training from your home or office.

This month’s FSCast focuses on Web 2.0. Thanks to Freedom Scientific’s JAWS® for Windows® and an emerging technology known as ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Application), Web sites using the latest technologies are becoming more accessible.

On this month’s FSCast, a beta version of our JAWS® for Windows® screen reading software is announced for the 64-bit version of Microsoft Windows Vista®. Guest: Eric Damery, Vice President of Software Product Management

International Product Specialist Oleg Shevkun talks about growing up in the Soviet Union and the remarkable story that led him to Freedom Scientific.

This month’s FSCast looks at Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) for the blind with VoIP specialist Patrick Perdue. Patrick, who uses Freedom Scientific technology, discusses the advantages of using the Internet, rather than a telephone services carrier. You’ll also learn about easy control of VoIP services with a Web browser and JAWS® for Windows® screen reading software, and you can sit in as we make actual calls using JAWS and the PAC Mate Omni™ Accessible Pocket PC for the blind.

This month’s FSCast with Jonathan Mosen features the new SAPPHIRE™ portable video magnifier for low vision -less than 2 lbs., flexible, and foldable for magnification of flat documents and 3D objects – as well as for writing. Guest: Brad Davis, Freedom Scientific Vice President of Hardware Management

FSCast also spotlights T&T Consultancy’s J-Tools – a set of JAWS® screen reading software scripts that add productivity and efficiency features for the blind. Guests: Brian Hartgen and Sue Martin

This month, Eric Damery returns to talk about the next public beta of JAWS® 10. Not only have we made changes in response to your feedback, but there are exciting new features to show you. We’ll demonstrate the powerful out-of-the-box access JAWS users can now enjoy with iTunes® 8. Plus, we unveil a significant new feature that will change the way many JAWS users receive support and assistance. This is an FSCast you won’t want to miss.

This month, FSCast unveils JAWS® 10, as Jonathan Mosen speaks with Eric Damery, Freedom Scientific’s Vice President of Software Product Management. In advance of the first public beta, Eric will demonstrate a wide range of new features that provide unparalleled access to Windows®.

This month, Jonathan Mosen introduces PAC Mate Omni™ 6.1, a free upgrade for all PAC Mate Omni users that puts this accessible Pocket PC even further ahead of the pack.

Get information about several exciting new features including: full support for contracted braille input, the new Reader Mode which provides access to PDF files, and the addition of new Navigation Quick Keys. In addition, learn about the new upgrade path that enables users to keep their data and installed applications in tact when the firmware is updated.

This month, Jonathan Mosen speaks with Olga Espinola from Freedom Scientific’s scripting department. Olga has been a user, trainer, and influential force in assistive technology for a quarter of a century. She discusses her fascinating career, reminisces about the evolution of assistive technology, and offers some advice to people considering a career in technology.

We also summarize Freedom Scientific-related events at this year’s Sight Village exhibition in the UK.

In this month’s FSCast, we tell you about new releases of JAWS® and MAGic®, announce the return of our Open Plan notetaker trade-in offer, and take you through the schedule of Freedom Scientific events at the forthcoming conventions of the National Federation of the Blind, and American Council of the Blind.

During this episode you can also listen to a recording of “PAC Mate Omni™, Beyond the Basics”, a presentation delivered at the CSUN 2008 conference by Jonathan Mosen.

This month, Jonathan Mosen speaks with several users of Freedom Scientific’s MAGic® screen magnification software. We learn how MAGic is used stand-alone, in conjunction with speech and braille, in situations where scripting can help productivity, and in complex network installations.

We also tell you about our free MAGic trial, allowing you to try MAGic at absolutely no cost until the end of August.

In this month’s FSCast, we’ll tell you about all the Freedom Scientific presentations you can attend at this year’s CSUN conference in Los Angeles. You’ll also hear about our special CSUN reception where you can meet many familiar names from Freedom Scientific and enjoy some great hospitality.

Jonathan Mosen then speaks with David Pinto of Yes Accessible. With no programming background but a natural gift of being able to share knowledge, David began developing a range of JAWS for Windows® scripts. CakeTalking and Sibelius Speaking are sold in the US by Dancing Dots. Typeability, which we demonstrate later in the podcast, is available directly from Yes Accessible.

This month, Jonathan Mosen speaks with Brad Davis about Freedom Scientific’s low vision hardware, including the TOPAZ™, ONYX™, and OPAL™. They also will demonstrate the SARA™, the Scanning and Reading Appliance, which has features of interest to both blind and low vision users.

The PAC Mate Omni™ is now shipping. Ron Miller joins Jonathan to discuss how you can upgrade your existing PAC Mate to this latest technology.

In this edition of FSCast, Jonathan Mosen speaks with Dusty Voorhees about two exciting software updates. OpenBook™ 8.0 scanning and reading software is so much more than an optical character recognition package. Find out about the many enhancements that make OpenBook a powerful way to convert printed documents or graphic-based text into an electronic text format using accurate optical character recognition and quality speech.

MAGic® 11.0 screen magnification software for low vision users is currently in public beta. Dusty tells us what’s new.

One of the many benefits of the PAC Mate™ accessible Pocket PC is that its uses can be expanded with third-party, mainstream software right out of the box. Many users write scripts to make other off-the-shelf applications accessible. Louis Bryant of BrailleSoft has gone a step further by developing games and original utilities for PAC Mate.

This month, Jonathan Mosen speaks with Glen Gordon, Freedom Scientific’s Chief Technology officer. Glen tells us a little about himself, talks about writing the first versions of JAWS for Windows®, and examines some of today’s technological challenges.

This month, we speak with Dr. Lee Hamilton, President and CEO of Freedom Scientific. Lee has been with Freedom Scientific now for five years. In this interview, we find out a little about him and answer some commonly-asked questions.

This month on FSCast, we speak with Dan Clark of our Training Department. Learn about all of the training resources we produce to help you get the most out of your Freedom Scientific products, as well as training courses you can attend.

Doug Lee has written free JAWS scripts that make Skype™ more convenient to use with JAWS. With the free Skype software, computer users can talk to other Skype users. Skype also offers premium services letting you make telephone calls from your PC. Doug talks about the scripts for JAWS.

This month, we talk about the PAC Mate™ accessible Pocket PC and Focus braille displays. Ron Miller, whose voice will be familiar to users of the PAC Mate audio tutorial, joins us to talk about these products. He demonstrates the forthcoming StreetTalk™ 2.0 GPS solution, as well as our ScanTalker™ accessible barcode scanner for PAC Mate.

This month, FSCast features an interview with Dusty Voorhees, one of our product managers at Freedom Scientific. We’ll talk about MAGic® screen magnification software. You’ll hear what makes MAGic unique, what’s new in the MAGic 10.5 release, and learn about an exciting new edition of MAGic. Dusty also has great news for OpenBook™ users, as he updates us on the OpenBook development cycle.

Jonathan Mosen then speaks with Terry Clasper and Brian Hartgen of T&T Consultancy in the United Kingdom. We learn about how you can control your computer completely by voice using the J-Say solution for JAWS® and Dragon® NaturallySpeaking™. Brian, who is not a computer programmer by training, discusses how he learned to write such powerful JAWS scripts. We hear about what’s in store for low vision users regarding access to Dragon NaturallySpeaking, and find out about what support is available for users of the Windows Vista™ speech recognition.

This month, Jonathan Mosen speaks with Glen Gordon and Eric Damery about Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows Vista. We discuss what’s new in Vista, demonstrate JAWS running on a Windows Vista machine, and outline how JAWS will work with Windows Vista.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

JavaScript must be turned on to leave a comment.

Participate in this conversation via emailGet only replies to your comment, the best of the rest, as well as a daily recap of all comments on this post. No more than a few emails daily, which you can reply to/unsubscribe from directly from your inbox.

My Disability Matters (MDM) News provided a news and article curation and republishing service to alert readers to stories published in the mainstream and disability media and disability niche blogs that relate to disability and disability advocacy.
MDM News provides excerpts or full republications and links as information only. We do not endorse or reject any of the statements and opinions they contain.
No new articles are currently being published on this website.